Tom Wopat to Star in Tenth National 'Chicago' Tour

This fall, the celebrated, Tony Award-winning Broadway musical CHICAGO will once again razzle-dazzle audiences throughout North America, when two-time Tony Award nominee Tom Wopat kicks off the tenth national tour of the record-breaking stage spectacular at the Belk Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday, November 11, 2008.
 
After its Charlotte debut (November 11-16), the national tour of CHICAGO will play Appleton, Wisconsin (November 21-23); Raleigh, North Carolina (December 2-7); Boston, Massachusetts (December 9-14); Calgary, Alberta (December 31 - January 4); Phoenix, Arizona (January 6-11) and San Jose, New Mexico (January 14-18). Additional cities will be announced soon.
 
Please visit www.ChicagoTheMusical.com as casting may vary from city to city (Tom Wopat will appear in all cities included in this announcement).
 
Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, CHICAGO is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who maliciously murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago's slickest criminal lawyer, Billy Flynn, to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids.
 
Joining Tom Wopat as Billy Flynn, the new national tour of CHICAGO also stars Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart, Terra C. MacLeod as Velma Kelly and Roz Ryan as Matron "Mama" Morton.  Complete casting will be announced soon.

With a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, CHICAGO is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.
 
CHICAGO is directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Ann Reinking, and features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer. 
 
Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, CHICAGO is currently the eighth longest-running production in Broadway history, as well as Broadway's longest-running musical revival - and it still shows no signs of slowing down!
 
Last December, the record-breaking London production of CHICAGO celebrated its tenth year in the West End, where it continues to hold the record as the longest-running American musical in West End history. CHICAGO is also currently playing in Denmark and Korea.
 
Other previous international engagements include productions in Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Dubai, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan. 
 
International return engagements of CHICAGO are slated for Japan this October, as well as Australia, Spain, Argentina and Holland in 2009.
 
Visit www.ChicagoTheMusical.com for more information.
 
Tour Schedule:

CHARLOTTE, NC - Belk Theater
     November 11-16, 2008
     For tickets, visit www.blumenthalcenter.org or call 704-372-1000
 
 
APPLETON, WI - Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
     November 21-23, 2008
     For tickets, visit www.foxcitiespac.com or www.broadwayacrossamerica.com
 
 
RALEIGH, NC - Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
     December 2-7, 2008
     For tickets, visit www.broadwayseriessouth.com
 
 
BOSTON, MA- The Colonial Theatre
     December 9-14, 2008
     For tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 617-931-2787
 
 
CALGARY, ALBERTA (Canada) - Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
     December 31, 2008 - January 4, 2009
     For tickets, visit www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca or call 403-777-0000
 
 
PHOENIX, AZ - Orpheum Theatre
     January 6-11, 2009
     For tickets, visit www.theaterleague.com or call602-262-7272
 
 
SAN JOSE, NM - San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
     January 14-18, 2009
     For tickets, visit www.amtsj.org or call 888-455-SHOW (7469)
 
 
Additional cities and dates will be announced soon. Please visit www.ChicagoTheMusical.com for updates.
 

Tom Wopat (Billy Flynn) returns to the role of Billy Flynn after having played the part in both the Broadway and National Touring productions of CHICAGO. Other Broadway credits include A Catered Affair (Tom, Tony nomination), Glengarry Glen Ross (James Lingk), 42nd Street (Julian Marsh), Annie Get Your Gun (Frank Butler, Tony nomination), Guys and Dolls, City of Angels, Carousel, I Love My Wife. Off-B'way: The Guys. Perhaps best known for his seven-season run on TV's "The Dukes of Hazzard" and seen on the CBS sitcom "Cybill," Tom began performing in musicals at age 12. His NY debut was the Off-Broadway musical A Bistro Car on the CNR, and he then starred in The Robber Bridegroom, Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C. He has released successful albums with CBS, Capitol and Angel Records; has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe; and recently performed in a Carnegie Hall tribute to Harold Arlen. Tom's CD tribute to Harold Arlen, Dissertation on the State of Bliss, is now available.

Bianca Marroquin (Roxie Hart) was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and raised on the border between Matamoros, Mexico and Brownsville, Texas. She started her artistic career in Mexico City in the productions of Beauty and the Beast, Rent, The Vagina Monologues, The Phantom of the Opera and CHICAGO. For her Spanish-language portrayal of merry murderess Roxie Hart, Bianca received five awards from the Mexican Critics Association, including New Revelation and Best Actress. In the summer of 2002, Bianca was invited to crossover from Mexico to Broadway and made her debut as Roxie Hart with the English version of CHICAGO, making her the first Latina actress in history to crossover to Broadway from her native production in a leading role. Bianca later kicked off the third National Tour of CHICAGO, and earned a 2004 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. After touring for two years she moved to New York to continue to pursue her career. She originated the role of Carmen in the Tony-winning revival of The Pajama Game. Bianca can be heard on the special 10th anniversary edition CD of CHICAGO, performing a medley of three of Roxie's songs in Spanish.
 
Terra C. MacLeod (Velma Kelly). After a long history with CHICAGO as Velma Kelly, from the French world premiere in Montreal and Paris, to Broadway, to the national/international tour, and the 10th anniversary gala performance, Terra is thrilled to once again return to one of her all-time favorite roles!  Recent credits include: Gladys in The Pajama Game (Musical Theatre West, LA) and Adelaide in Guys and Dolls (San Diego Musical Theatre). She is the recipient of the Jessie Richardson Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Anita in West Side Story (Vancouver Arts Club). Other credits: Damn Yankees (Lola), A Chorus Line (Cassie), My Fair Lady, She Loves Me, Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding.  Various film and TV credits include The Lizzie Maguire Movie, The Reagans, "The Dead Zone," "Cold Squad," and "Life or Something Like It." www.terracmacleod.com
 
Roz Ryan (Matron "Mama" Morton) returns to CHICAGO this fall after lending her voice to the Cartoon Network's hit animated series "Flapjack."  Ms. Ryan's previous Broadway credits include roles in the Tony Award-winning revival of The Pajama Game, One Mo' Time, Dreamgirls, Ain't Misbehavin' and A Christmas Carol.  On tour, Ms. Ryan has appeared as Miss Hannigan in Annie, as Bloody Mary in South Pacific and was featured in Blues in the Night, as well as regional appearances in August Wilson's Seven Guitars, The Old Settler and Cole Porter Requests the Pleasure. Ms. Ryan has previously appeared in major cities across the country with the National Tour of CHICAGO. Television audiences will recognize Ms. Ryan as Mae Palmer in the Showtime series "Barbershop," as Mrs. Dixon in the UPN series "Good News," and perhaps most notably as Amelia Hetebrink on the long-running NBC series "Amen."  As a voiceover artist, she has portrayed Thalia in the Disney motion picture Hercules and its television counterpart "Hercules," and as Madame President in the Disney Channel series "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command." Her film credits include Went to Coney Island, Cotton Club, Divine Intervention and Chris Rock's I Think I Love My Wife.